AUBURN — A building committee has officially been formed and site selection continues for the new Edward Little High School building, according to Auburn Superintendent Katy Grondin. 

The monthly Auburn Democratic Committee meeting Tuesday featured Grondin and Auburn School Department Business Manager Jude Cyr as guest speakers to share updates on the new high school project.

“Right now, we’re in the process of architect selection,” Grondin said. “We’ve had five firms show interest and today was the cut-off day. We want to make sure we have the right person to build our school. Then the work really begins.”

Now that a committee has been formed and applications have been submitted from architects, the next steps can be taken, she said. Once one of the five companies has been chosen, it will be time for site selection. 

The new site will need a minimum of 50 usable acres, she said. The current high school is on 52 acres, but only about 30 are usable.

“The existing high school is the pinnacle of Auburn,” Grondin said. “It’s the highest spot and centrally located, but with very limited space.”

“Site selection is time sensitive and critical,” Cyr said.

Grondin said the community will be invited to do a straw vote on possible locations. The Maine Department of Education wants to see which location the community supports.

An updated enrollment projection also must be completed for the official state funding estimate.

“The state will fund what they feel is needed, based on enrollment,” Grondin said. “Any additional costs would have to be publicly funded.”

All additions would be publicly voted on, she said. 

Grondin said enrollment has been steady, around 1,000.

“We want to do it right,” Grondin said. “We don’t want to come back and go, ‘Oh, I wish we would’ve thought of that.'” 

Grondin estimated that if everything is approved, the timeline from now until ribbon-cutting should be five to seven years. Construction alone will take at least two. 

“There are still a lot of questions to wrestle with,” she said. “It’s going to require public funding, and its going to take support from the City Council.”

The Building Committee’s first public meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. The companies that have applied will be announced at that time, Grondin said. 

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